Power inquiry to call NSW Treasurer

NSW Treasurer
Eric Roozendaal
and eight power company directors who resigned in protest on the eve of the government’s $5.3 billion electricity sale are among 16 witnesses who will be called to give evidence at a parliamentary inquiry into the as-yet uncompleted transaction.

The parliamentary committee conducting the inquiry, scheduled for January 17 and 18, will call Mr Roozendaal, Treasury secretary Michael Schur and the former directors of the state-owned Eraring and Delta Electricity companies, along with five replacement directors drafted in by the Treasurer at the 11th hour to close the deal.

Among the ranks of replacement directors to be asked to give evidence is a former senior executive at Macquarie Bank, Michael Lilley, appointed to the Delta board the day after the sale was pushed through before midnight on December 14.

Power industry expert Hugh Outh­red from the University of NSW is also expected to give evidence.

Greens MP David Shoebridge, a member of the Upper House standing committee holding the inquiry, said the committee would release its report on January 31, ahead of the March 26 state election. Two more days in January have been reserved if the inquiry runs over time.

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Mr Shoebridge said a review by NSW Auditor-General
Peter Achterstraat
, called by Premier
Kristina Keneally
, was not appropriate because he would not report until after the election or before the transactions were finalised.

“The transactions are not completed yet," he said. “Clearly, if this is, as many suspect it to be, a terrible deal for the taxpayers of NSW, we should find out as soon as possible, and if there’s any capacity to stop the transaction, that must be taken up."

The Treasurer’s office said Mr Roozendaal had not received any correspondence from the committee about his appearance at the inquiry.

Tony Maher
, an Eraring director who resigned, said yesterday he had “not been contacted by anyone regarding an inquiry at this stage. If that situation changes I’ll consider it then," Mr Maher, who is president of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union, said.

He has previously said the boards were not given enough time to go over the transaction before the government sold the Eraring and Delta West gentrader assets and retail electricity businesses to Origin Energy and TRUenergy.

Mr Shoebridge said witnesses would initially be invited to attend the inquiry but the clerk of the Parliament, Lynn Lovelock, had advised that “the committee has the ordinary powers of a parliamentary committee, which includes if necessary the power to summons witnesses and direct the production of documents".

On Monday the Premier released fresh advice from crown solicitor Ian Knight, backing his earlier view that a parliamentary inquiry cannot be held after parliament is prorogued, or shut down.

Ms Keneally has repeatedly denied that the Parliament was prorogued early, on December 22, to prevent the inquiry being held.

On Mr Knight’s view, there was “a risk" witnesses giving evidence at the inquiry would not be protected by parliamentary privilege, or legal immunity from court action for defamation or breach of confidence.

“We will be moving legislation to ensure parliamentary privilege of all committees when parliament is prorogued, and explicitly make it retrospective to the proroguing of this Parliament," Mr Shoebridge said. “The Coalition have now joined on to that commitment."

Constitutional law expert Anne Twomey said the inquiry would not be illegal if the crown solicitor’s view was correct, but a non-parliamentary inquiry would not have the power to summons witnesses or to take evidence under privilege.

“If it’s not a parliamentary proceeding, then that leaves the witnesses and the committee itself potentially vulnerable to some kind of action," Associate Professor Twomey said.

But she said the absence of parliamentary privilege would not be a problem in “99 per cent of cases" and evidence could be protected by the implied constitutional freedom of political communication.